Galaxy Z Fold 7 ditched the S Pen, but Samsung's working on a new version for future foldables

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Samsung feels your S Pen woes

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 inner display
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

One of the standout parts of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is just how thin it is, but it came at the cost of S Pen stylus support. However, Samsung has confirmed that it is working on a solution for future foldables.

In a statement made to ETNews (via Android Authority), the executive director of Samsung’s MX business division, Kang Min-seok, stated that Samsung is “researching and developing thinner and innovative technologies for the S Pen, so we will reconsider [foldable stylus compatibility] when the level of perfection increases and there is consumer demand.”

We don’t know what form this new S Pen will take, but The Elec reported last year that Samsung and a second Korean company, HiDeep, were working on a new type of stylus that would work without a digitizer. As pointed out by Android Authority, this could mean the new pen will work similarly to an Apple Pencil by utilizing a combination of technologies such as onboard pressure sensitivity and tilt detection.

Why did Samsung remove the S Pen?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 hinge

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Samsung’s Z Fold 7’s thickness is no doubt impressive, with the phone measuring only 4.2mm when unfolded. However, making a phone that’s 26% thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with some major caveats, as there is some hardware that you just can’t adapt to be thinner, including the stylus digitizer, due to durability requirements and the properties of the materials used.

While the Z Fold 7 might not get much from any future S Pen releases, there are some other major benefits to the device that will likely help it find a place as one of the best foldable phones. One of the standout features is the 8-inch OLED display, which is both bright and vibrant. There's also the new 200MP main camera and powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Also, while it comes with some costs, the phone’s thinner and lighter design really needs to be seen to be believed.

For the time being, we don’t know when Samsung will bring this new S Pen tech to the smartphone market, or which devices will offer support for it. As such, we’ll have to wait and see what is unveiled in the coming months.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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